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And all that was done while keeping SecurityÕs management, employees and safety programs intact.
ÒWe didnÕt need anything to change. I came in and layered on additional duties on top of the existing personnel,Ó Avery said. ÒThey were able to gear up to meet that challenge in a way that blended with my management style perfectly.Ó
Security had been in probate since the death of founder Mike OÕNeill in 2002. After OÕNeill died, his stepson, Joe Kapper, took over as president.
ÒThis is his legacy, and it was something I didnÕt want to see disappear,Ó Kapper said. ÒThe idea of taking what my father had built and someone outside coming in was not appealing to me, but neither was the idea of closing the doors. After he passed away, there was talk about turning the lights out and closing the doors.Ó
The timing was right for both parties, they said. Avery needed to invest in an aviation company to further serve his law practiceÕs clients who have transportation needs, though he wouldnÕt go into further details on his client base.
At the same time, Kapper was in discussions with his siblings to buy them out of the company.
ÒItÕs amazing, but it was just sitting there and was just on the verge of consumption or slaughter,Ó Avery said.
Only 16 days passed between AveryÕs submitting a letter of intent to buy and the day the deal closed, a time frame thatÕs nearly unheard of.
ÒMark has done what he said he was going to do,Ó Kapper said. ÒIt made a cleaner separation in regard to the estate, it was an infusion that came with additional contracts and additional capital. It gave us a more expedited way to get to where we hoped to be.Ó
Mach-speed growth
On July 17 Security Aviation moved its operations into a 17,000-square-foot hangar located closer to the runways of the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.
And while that is significantly bigger than its old 7,000-square-foot hanger across the way, the company has already outgrown it, and is planning to start construction soon on another hangar on an adjacent lot.
The company is also adding aircraft. It had six aircraft and it now has 22 with plans to add 10 more. Prior to the move, the company had 28 employees. It now has 80, including 45 pilots.
ÒSecurity Aviation has been looking to provide longer-range aircraft for our customers,Ó Kapper said. ÒWeÕre reaching out to Native corporations and oil companies, to markets in Russia and projects in the Lower 48.Ó
The big question is can this fast-growing company sustain that speed?
Avery and Kapper say yes.
ÒA lot of these new planes are still in the certification process,Ó Avery said. ÒBut people hear about them and are calling wanting to book them two or three months out.Ó
Avery brought on-board some high-flying dreams that meshed well with those held by Kapper and his father.
One dream: To make Anchorage and Security Aviation the medevac capital of the world.
Security averages about four medical evacuation flights a day, in addition to its 12 daily charters. The company holds medevac contracts for Alaska Regional Hospital and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corp.
Avery also owns companies that relate to aviation and to emergency medical training, which will provide Security Aviation with a constant flow of trained personnel for its medevac section.
Many of the newly purchased aircraft will play a dual role for the company. A new jet can serve as a high-class executive aircraft for chartering services or a medevac craft fitted with life port equipment, which holds emergency medical treatment equipment and a removable stretcher. The life ports can be easily removed to be replaced with seats.
Security is also about to take possession of a Sikorsky 62, a helicopter that formerly served as Marine 1 - the PresidentÕs helicopter - to use for medevac services. Avery said theyÕre looking for at least two more helicopters similar to what the Coast Guard uses.
Other ideas the company is batting around include finding ways to become the staging point for foreign-originated medevac transports coming to the United States. The foreign aircraft could stop in Anchorage, and then Security could complete the transport to the Lower 48 or Canada.
Kapper said that his clientsÕ main concerns with the changes have been to wonder if the company has gone Òcorporate,Ó giving up that personal touch for volume.
ÒThe company is still the original core management,Ó he said. ÒThe original customers have gotten us to this point. WeÕre expanding service as a way to foresee our customersÕ needs that are coming in the not-too-distant future.Ó
Melissa Campbell can be reached at melissa.campbell@alaska
journal.com.
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